Department of Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation and Disease Prevention, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
Pharmacotherapy. 2013 Jan;33(1):44-50. doi: 10.1002/phar.1166.
To estimate the 12-month prevalence of cognitive-enhancing drug use.
Paper-and-pencil questionnaire that used the randomized response technique.
University in Mainz, Germany.
A total of 2569 university students who completed the questionnaire.
An anonymous, specialized questionnaire that used the randomized response technique was distributed to students at the beginning of classes and was collected afterward. From the responses, we calculated the prevalence of students taking drugs only to improve their cognitive performance and not to treat underlying mental disorders such as attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, depression, and sleep disorders. The estimated 12-month prevalence of using cognitive-enhancing drugs was 20%. Prevalence varied by sex (male 23.7%, female 17.0%), field of study (highest in students studying sports-related fields, 25.4%), and semester (first semester 24.3%, beyond first semester 16.7%). To our knowledge, this is the first time that the randomized response technique has been used to survey students about cognitive-enhancing drug use.
Using the randomized response technique, our questionnaire provided data that showed a high 12-month prevalence of cognitive-enhancing drug use in German university students. Our study suggests that other direct survey techniques have underestimated the use of these drugs. Drug prevention programs need to be established at universities to address this issue.
估计认知增强药物的 12 个月使用率。
使用随机反应技术的纸质问卷。
德国美因茨大学。
共 2569 名完成问卷的大学生。
在课程开始时向学生分发了一份匿名、专门的使用随机反应技术的问卷，并在之后收集。根据这些回答，我们计算了仅为提高认知表现而服用药物的学生的使用率，而不是为了治疗注意力缺陷多动障碍、抑郁和睡眠障碍等潜在精神障碍。使用认知增强药物的 12 个月估计使用率为 20%。使用率因性别（男性 23.7%，女性 17.0%）、研究领域（体育相关领域学生最高，为 25.4%）和学期（第一学期 24.3%，第一学期后为 16.7%）而异。据我们所知，这是首次使用随机反应技术调查学生对认知增强药物的使用情况。
我们的问卷使用随机反应技术提供的数据显示，德国大学生认知增强药物的 12 个月使用率很高。我们的研究表明，其他直接调查技术低估了这些药物的使用情况。需要在大学建立药物预防计划来解决这个问题。
